Katawa Shoujo Forums

Mirage_GSM wrote:To be honest I couldn't get motivated to look at the stories in this continuity yet.
At first it was the initial thread with the totally disjointed story that turned me away, but now that the story is being... rewritten? added to?
I'm not sure I want to keep up with a story spread out over several threads with several continuities (?) and written in no particular chronological order^^°

I hope you do, one day.

Perhaps I can just say that this is one continuity, following several arcs. Just as in real life, we see the whole thing from each character's viewpoint. Sometimes, those viewpoints show things very differently because each of them is human, and hence fallible or unreliable.

The key is the time notation. 'T' is 2024, and Hisao dies that year, around the August Tanabata festival. So 'T -11' is 2013, and 'T +4' is 2028.

I'll put a master index up when I'm done. Thanks for commenting anyway!

brythain wrote:I'll put a master index up when I'm done. Thanks for commenting anyway!

Well, the master index is up now, at the top of this thread. Primitive navigation, though; be warned.

Some readers find the shifting perspectives and multiple arcs disconcerting. One of my readers commented that opening multiple windows helped a bit. I can't comment on the utility value of that. Sorry for the mess! Life's complicated like that.

This slot used to host Hideaki's 'Origin' vignette, which later became the first part of his arc.

It's now reserved for future expansion.

Rin's arc is currently in play as of 31 Mar 2014 (IRL), for the information of anyone interested in following the progress of this mosaic. The index will continue to be updated appropriately.

I've decided to post the 01 April 2014 Rin One-Shot here. I must stress that while it can be made to fit in the 'After the Dream' continuity, it doesn't really. It's perhaps a glimpse into an alternate version much inspired by Philip K Dick and Joe Haldeman. Enjoy.

=====

Rin (Alternative Version): Tetrad

I’m sitting in the atelier. I keep forgetting things. Why is that?

Ding-ding. That’s the bell. It says that somebody is coming up the stairs. Maybe they will tell me things and I will understand.

*****

Adamant. Tasmania. Unicorn. Valency.

age 15 post-operative state, go

Am Rin Tezuka. They said I was a beautiful girl and they followed me around. Attempts were made to assault me physically. Crushed sternum x2, neck broken at C4 x1. No serious injuries to self. Case covered by Tezuka clan, no reprisals.

query training

Savate plus adapted manoeuvrability training for unarmed combat. Blocks without upper limbs in particular. Prolonged combat inadvisable.

age 19 tokyo station, go

Am Rin. Controller was [codename: Mikado]. Subject was politician [redacted]. Policy proposals inimical to continued state monopolies with ties to various clans. Subject was known for unusual attraction to limbless participants.

detail contact episode

Subject entered stairwell and warning chime activated. Positioned self for optimum single strike. On door opening to 37.5°, high strike to throat. Subject unbalanced, fell backward three flights. Termination confirmed by kick to base of skull. Subcontroller [codename: Gallery] completed disposal.

detail post-operative state

Felt urge to paint. Colours were all wrong. Not enough green. Did not eat for 72 hours. Tried to go home. Quarrelled with Hisao. Why Hisao why Hisao why…

restart, go

Am Rin Tezuka. They said I was a beautiful girl…

age 24 sendai station, go

Am Rin. Controller was [codename: Entanglement]. Mission was deployment of pirated StarkTech variant [codename: Ricardo]. Ruthenium source obtained, used in art project. Excess material diverted to Ricardo. Subcontroller was [codename: Bandage]. Ensured security of underground test laboratory.

query outcome

Prototype augmentation tech tree established. Subconscious abilities triggered by posthypnotic command. Prosthetic implants allow for expanded operational capability. Gyroscopic stabilizers plus satellite guidance may allow for remote operations without operator knowledge.

But Rin doesn’t kill people Rin doesn’t kill people Rin doesn’t…

restart, go

Am Rin Tezuka. They said…

query ident capability trigger note

Tezuka Rin. Class 34 augment state operative. Synaesthetic hyperoperability. Colour combination may be used in place of verbal posthypnotic trigger.

confirmed, standby for upload

Adamant. Tasmania. Unicorn. Valency.

*****

Why am I always forgetting things? The colours are all wrong. Hisao? Oh that’s right, you’re not there anymore. Poor Emi. Poor Rin.

I look out of the window. I don’t know which city this is. Again.

Although 'After the Dream' now has all its main arcs in place, as far as the young ladies of KS's main routes are concerned, there's a lot more space in that mosaic, many more stories to be told. For now, though, I am happy to have told five stories that are actually one story. And in time for the cherry blossoms in Sendai this year!

I'm always dozing off at my desk these days. Fortunately, this desk, like all my others, was designed to have plenty of space for sleeping.

I'm woken with a start. It's a warm afternoon and sunlight lances through a gap in the curtains and across my face.

"Hello, author."

In the relative dimness of the room, a slim shape sits, hands folded primly on a pleated skirt. Who is it this time? It doesn't sound like Lilly, and besides, I think I've finished outlining her story.

Slim, very pale. And then I take a closer look. A whiter shade of pale, perhaps. Her irises are crimson even with her body turned away from the window.

"I'm sorry, miss. I haven't yet had the pleasure of your acquaintance."

She laughs with unexpected vigour and charm.

"Katayama. Rika, if you like. I know you've thought of me only very briefly, and I'm just a ghost at the edges of the dream. But… would you mind? It would be interesting to watch you write at least one scene from my story."

Wild surmise runs through my head. I have indeed thought about it briefly. Only yesterday, in fact. Does the act of invocation, the deed of summoning, spring from thought alone?

She gives a gentle little snort, as if reading my mind.

"I've been thinking the same kind of thoughts. Maybe the answer becomes clearer if more people think about them, and if those people are somehow linked."

She smiles. Her teeth are very white, but her lips are pale. She has an ethereal beauty, like the faint scent of bergamot with a hint of vanilla.

From another corner of the room, "Wahaha!~ Author-san, I won't mind! The more the merrier! It might even make my story less sad! You cannot write sad stories all day, they just make you tired, and who will then give Misha a good deal?"

Fine.

Ooh. Certainly I wouldn't mind.

brythain wrote:Fine.

Rika and other characters could be very interesting actually. Just one thing: you promised us Misha.

yukarin wrote:Ooh. Certainly I wouldn't mind.

MyCaptain wrote:Rika and other characters could be very interesting actually. Just one thing: you promised us Misha.

Sometimes, the strangest people visit me.

Misha promises herself. If I were to promise Misha, she'd make a dirty joke.

Yes, this index is getting a little messy. I do have minor characters—many of us here do, and their vignettes have to go into the index as well. At this point, I know what the mosaic looks like, but I don't see a better way to index it. Added: Rika and Akira vignettes. Also: Misha's arc has begun.

I'm lying in bed and looking up at the ceiling. It's been a bad night and being racked with uncomfortable coughing fits is but the least of it. Getting up to dispose of the product of said fits is another pain. Then I feel a corner of my mattress sag.

"Wahaha, author-san!~"

Groan. Not her again.

"You look so sad! It's nice to know someone feels for Misha! But that's a bit much, you know…"

"Misha, this is called the flu. When I think of you, liquid flows from my eyes. With the flu, it's from my nose."

"Ah! It's not nice to make fun of me like that! But I forgive you, you're trying so hard to tell my story!"

I've begun to notice that with Misha, the SHIFT-1 combination on my keyboard is getting too much use.

"Thank you, Misha. That's much appreciated."

"Aw, author-san, no, no, Misha understands. But I can't help thinking that Hana-chan and Rin-chan tired you out and you've got less left for Misha! Wahaha!~"

Groan. Again.

"Misha dear, it's because you keep telling me what NOT to write and then changing your mind!"

Then I think of what she's been through all her life, and I immediately feel contrite. So I add, "But I forgive you too, Misha."

"Okay! Then we're good! See you around, author-san!~ Oh, by the way, you don't have to leave out my exclamation marks! I really do sound like that!"

Argh. I make a face at her, with what's left of my energy.

"Wahaha!~" and she's gone. The room somehow seems too empty now, though.

Just readi the whole thing. Dear God, the waterworks haven't flowed this much and so long in many a year. Well done author, you out-feeled the original materiel.

Rhodri wrote:Just readi the whole thing. Dear God, the waterworks haven't flowed this much and so long in many a year. Well done author, you out-feeled the original materiel.

Thank you! It wasn't my intention, really; just a tribute to that story we all love so much!

Now that Misha's story is done, the main work is complete. Who knows what else remains to be told?

brythain wrote:Now that Misha's story is done, the main work is complete. Who knows what else remains to be told?

All of it.

That is one of the greatest beauties of a work like this. You -- or anyone, really -- can add pieces to it and let it grow. It'll take a while before I really know where this mosaic fits in the pantheon of KS stories, but firmly in the upper echelon, by my reckoning.

*tips hat*